A pair of projects slated to meet the demand for affordable housing in Chattanooga won preliminary approval from a city panel Monday with the units expected to come online by the end of 2025.
Apartment complexes delivering a total of 156 units are to go up on a vacant tract of land on Shallowford Road and at the site of a dilapidated structure on East Main Street, officials said.
The city's Health, Educational and Housing Facility Board approved a proposal for the issuance of up to $20 million in tax-exempt, multi-family housing revenue bonds for a 96-unit project at 6402 Shallowford Road. DGA Shallowford LP plans to build 48 two-bedroom units and the same number of three-bedroom apartments at the site, said Craig Cobb of DGA at the meeting.
He said the Knoxville-based company is to erect six two-story buildings at the site. Work is to start in the fall and take from 12 to 14 months before apartments are ready, Cobb said.
"All 96 units will be restricted to low income (renters)," he said at the meeting. Cobb said the complex will provide a clubhouse, playground and open space.
The second project approved by the city panel Monday is to go at 1815 E. Main St. in a new three-story building, said Anna Protano-Biggs, president and chief executive of the AIM Center in Chattanooga. She told the panel that units are to house people who have mental illness, some of whom are chronically homeless.
The AIM Center, which offers mental health services, is teaming with the city, which is donating the site, Protano-Biggs said. She told the panel that plans are to offer 52 one-bedroom units with the remainder two-bedroom apartments.
The board approved a proposal for the issuance of up to $12 million in multi-family housing revenue bonds related to the project.
Protano-Biggs said plans are to provide on-site support for the complex when it opens. She said the Chattanooga Housing Authority is expected to providing housing vouchers.
Rents weren't specified for either project, but both are expected to seek tax incentive agreements with the city, officials said.
Hicks Armor, the board's chairman, said finding housing is hard for people the AIM Center serves.
"Housing is a difficult task," he said.
Last year, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly unveiled plans for a $100 million affordable housing initiative over five years.
"In a very real way, Chattanooga faces a crossroads," Kelly said in a news conference at the time, adding that housing affordability is increasingly intolerable and helping drive homelessness.
He said the city planned to put up "seed" money and work with nonprofit groups, banks, foundations and other entities.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.